Life extending properties of BBP750 in Caenorhabditis elegans

Lam Hoi-ka, E. ten Winkel, bbPharma

Certain drugs such as mianserin have been reported to extend the lifespan in worms by 30%. We have tested BBP750 a serotonin modulator with octopamine inhibiting effects.
Caenorhabditis elegans on BBP750 enhanced diet showed a 25% boost in lifespan compared to C. elegans on a regular diet (bacterial lawn grown on an agar plate, with and without BBP750 enrichment). No Dauer stadia were seen

Interestingly, effects from other studies on BBP750 show that rats have slightly decreased food-intake compared to rats on a regular diet.

Conotoxin in pain transmission

Pritsana Khamchaew, Edwin ten Winkel, bbPharma

In the vertebrate nervous system the calcium influx in the pre-synaptic end of the nerve fiber leads to a release of neurotransmitter in the synaptic cleft. Specific ion channels facilitate the calcium influx and the synaptic signal transmission.
The conopeptide reversibly antagonises -highly specifically- a special type of calcium channel (the N-Type), that can be found in a high density in the Central Nervous System and that is responsible for pain transmission.
Our conotoxin, a nerve agent, binds to and blocks these N-Type calcium channels and thus blocks the release of neurotransmitter. The nerve impuls is thus interrupted pre-synaptically. This effect -in contrast to morphine- is immediate and complete.